Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Story So Far…

Arguably one of the most highly anticipated games of the last 5 years, the fifth installment in the Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim is set to smash records and is a clear contender for Game of the Year alongside L.A Noire. Gamers Heroes are going to take you every step of the way with the latest Skyrim news, updates, previews and videos, all in one place!!

Skyrim is set to follow in the footsteps of previous Elder Scrolls titles, giving the player total free roam either on foot or via horseback to explore the world as they see fit. Bethesda decided to use an internally developed engine for Skyrim, The Creation Engine, as well as offering far superior draw distance to the previous titles, the new engine allows for some really impressive environmental effects. Each tree’s branch can be weighed out individually allowing every tree to behave in a unique way depending on where the wind is blowing, snow storms are dynamic and the game engine evaluates surrounding terrain and selects where snow will fall and set and where it will melt quicker, the flow of rivers varies depending on the direction of the wind, the new Creation Engine is getting a lot of attention, we’re sure they’ll deliver!

Story

Skyrim adds yet another new era to the timeline, not a direct follow on from Oblivion, Skyrim is set 200 years after the events of the previous Elder Scrolls title. Skyrim‘s civil war was the last prophecy foretold by the Elder Scrolls, you are the last of your kind, a Dovahkin (Dragonborn), a race with dragon hunting pumping through their veins, granted unique powers by the gods to defend Skyrim against any threat that may arise. You’re not alone in your adventure, you’re given an ally in the form of one of the last surviving members of the Blades, Esbern.

Skyrim is on the same continent as the previous Elder Scrolls titles, Tamriel, the game is said to be roughly the same size as the Oblivion which was roughly 16 square miles. As well as hundreds of small camps, villages and towns the game features 5 capital style cities with bustling economies, side quests galore and all the NPC interaction you could ever want.

Skills

Skyrim is set to include 18 unique skills which is backed by a new perk system featuring over 250 unique perks, Bethesda decided to ditch the previous levelling system from Oblivion and bought in a more familiar system of the skill tree. The level cap has also been increased to past 50 but the exact number is not yet known.

Combat

The core of combat remains similar to Oblivion, you can sprint and jump while fighting and shields can be used both offensively and defensively with the block being a timed counter instead of a just hold the button approach. The game now also allows you to duel wield weapons, when creating weapons you can decide on which hand to create them for making the combination possibilities endless, each weapon damage type also comes with a unique finisher style ability. Archery has also been given a revamp, shots now take longer but do far greater damage and the rarity of arrows has also been increased, if Magic is more your thing, the game includes around 90 different spells which can also be duel wielded, allowing you to equip a spell to each hand and fire them in combat, you can also charge the spell allowing for greater effects.

NPCs

Non playable characters (NPCs) are given a whole new breath of life in Skyrim. In previous games they could travel between towns and interact with each-other but a lot of it felt it had no purpose, Skryim’s new engine allows for NPC’s to interact in unique ways never before seen in the series. They can perform any job the player can do, collecting wood for a fire, gathering herbs for medicine, they’ll even fight over the loot you drop around town.

Dragons

Dragons are confirmed for release, not only do they look awesome, but they’re so involved in the game. They can attack towns and cities at will, they can communicate directly to the player and NPC’s in their native tongue Draconic. It has been said they can swoop down into the middle of a town, setting it ablaze with fiery breath, damaging structures and injuring innocents, before taking back to the skies. With the introduction of Dragons, also comes one of the more intriguing aspects of Elder Scrolls, Dragon Shouts. There are over 20 currently planned for launch and they are gained from slaying dragons and absorbing their souls, it has also been confirmed a small number of NPCs have this ability and one of those abilities is to summon a mighty dragon to aid you in combat.

About author

Blaine "Captain Camper" Smith is one of the original founders of Gamers Heroes. Now operating under the guise of Editor-in-Chief (purely because we felt the position was needed for public relations purposes), he's tasked with a lot of the kind of jobs that would put you to sleep at your desk.

When he's not catching some Zs, you'll likely find him arguing points he knows nothing about, playing the latest rogue-like he'll never complete, or breaking something on the website that never needed fixing.